TOPIC: Modulating to A - Amazing Grace

Modulating? Boy, I really missed a lot by being out last week. I spent part of the morning looking up "modulation" on the internet and I think I sort of understand it, but I'm still not sure how to use it in playing Amazing Grace. I am constantly amazed by how much there is to know about music.

Practicing a while back I was pickin' some of the leads for our songs and as I was Boilin' The Cabbage something didn't feel quit right.It sounded right but something was different. I realized I was playing in a different key. That was kind a cool so I started to add this every now and then in my practice sessions. I hear people say "I can't play it unless I hear it in my head". Well they still sounds pretty much the same when played in a different key. I'd like to be able to switch keys in a middle of a song but the transition is...well you know. Going from rhythm to lead can be tuff, let alone changing keys. It's a challenge I hope I'm up to someday.
Practice, practice, practice.

Dave, i guess the lead player sets up the modulation? It would seem the lead player should be able to "shift on the fly" to a different key, as long as the player knew his scales good enough to modulate the melody line to the new key, and the rhythm players were keen enough to detect the key change and back up with the new chords. (i guess he could yell out "a"), but getting everyone on deck with the timing would likely be compromised. Eye contact or some sort of signal? A "run up" bridge in the song in the new key?
This opens all sorts of practice conundrums as we should be learning these songs in different keys, which would also require learning the scale as well. I can see where the capo can get us into trouble. It would seem a good guitarist should be able to modulate the melody line at any time at will, and even make it sound cool with some sort of "run up" to signal the rhythm players. Is this a good assumption?

lspencerini wrote:
Lawrence, modulation (at the expense of sounding simplistic) is switching keys. If Dave says "modulate to A", he means switch the key to A. Amazing Grace is in G, so the tune would be played 1 step (2 frets) sharp in A. Most of our tunes are constructed from the 1/4/5's of their prospective scales, a rhythm player would substitute the proper chords when modulating to the new key. (a circle of 5ths comes in handy if you are slow like me).
It's not as simple as capo'ing to the 2nd fret, thats cheating. Plus, you would break rhythm applying the capo, which is bad if you are the only rhythm player (the song would die). To be good at modulation for the tunes we play, know your musical alphabet as it applies to the major scale in all the keys (R2212221)play and sudy the scales, and their position on the fretboard, and have a circle of 5ths cheat card on your guitar strap, so at least if your playing rhythm, you can transpose to the new chords. i'll bring a laminated one for you Wed. It also helps to practice the tunes in different keys, because the melody line will also be in the new key. (hence, knowing your fretboard). Lead guitarists in rock use this technique alot in their lead riffs, it really makes a song come alive if you can do this at will.

Lots of great blues players do this, too. It's a really cool effect. Here's an extreme example!

These are guitar lessons by Duke Robillard, each one is a half step above the last one. If you play the whole thing you can see him go up a half step each time. He plays this as a song called "Blues-A-Rama" on his CD called "Groove-a-Rama", and he plays this live. A real guitar lesson! Each go-round is a tribute to another classic blues guitarist, and each successive verse is raised a half step up till he has to quit because he runs out of room! The recorded version (a live recording) is killer!

www.redoakmusic.com/online-guitar-lesson...-guitar-lessons.html

I saw Duke and his great band at the old Bamboo Room in Lake Worth a few years ago. What a show!! See him if he ever comes around.

Ed, that was good stuff, that lesson 6 took me from Gun Club out to the acreage, and i still had time left. I noticed he went sharp 1/2 step, he popped the capo on real quick. Thats the kind of guitar playing i like, nice and clean, no distortion, not all screechy and over driven, just clean blues. Good stuff.
I'm gonna go practice modulating Amazing Grace to A, Dave will probably want it in D this week, who knows...